You have to give them credit: Amazon gets a lot of things right. Becoming the biggest online retailer in the world requires continuous implementation effective marketing strategies.
But sometimes even Amazon drops the ball, and this recent email is a good example of what not to do.
The Importance of Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach customers for repeat business — for at least two reasons:
- Trust: Since they are already your customers, there is a certain level of trust — i.e., they are more likely to buy from you again than some one who has never heard of you before.
- Effectiveness of Email: Despite the increasing popularity of social media, email remains one of the most effective ways to reach customers. (Think about it yourself: Are you more likely to click an ad on Facebook or open an email in your inbox?)
What Amazon Got Right
Clearly you will have the highest ROI by pitching the right offer to the right customer.
Amazon knows that I buy video games. They have fancy web analytics that shows them fine-grained detail of how I use their website, but even if they only consider my shopping history, they know that I’m a gamer.
So it’s a good idea for them to send me this email:
They also used a very effective subject line: “Mr Stephen E Lee: Trade Up to Pre-Orders.” It’s short, to the point, addresses me specifically, lets me know what the email is about, and also includes a clear call to action.
What Amazon Got Wrong
They sent me a relevant message, but this message was poorly implemented.
The email indicates that I can use the Amazon trade-in program to get enough credit to pre-order other video games. I have some awareness of this trade-in program, but I want to learn more, so I click the button.
Email Fail #1: The “Learn More” button doesn’t go where I expected it to. Since the message above was about the trade-in program, I wanted the button to connect me to a page that told me about that program. Instead, it took me to a page with a list of games available for pre-order.
Email Fail #2: Amazon included some suggestions of games I might want to trade-in. This was a good thought, but again the implementation failed.
If you take a look at the email, Amazon mislabeled these two sections. The top section shows Xbox 360 games, but the headline says they are PS3 games. The second section shows the PS3 games, but it’s labeled as Xbox 360 games.
This isn’t a huge mistake, but it’s enough to kill a sale. With a little more attention, this could easily have been corrected before the email went out.
Key Takeaways for Email Marketers
Amazon does a good job most of the time. You can learn a lot from their strategies … and their slip-ups.
- Be persistant in maintaining customers through email marketing: Even if you run an offline business, connecting with your customers via email is a great way to reach them with a relevant offer.
- Plan your click-through with the customer in mind: What does your customer expect to find on the other end of that link? You may want to get them straight to the check-out page, but if your email promises information to “learn more,” the landing page on your website better have the information you promised they would learn more about.
- Double check your email before you send it: Make sure the information is correct before you send it to your customer list.
What tips do you have? Leave a comment below.
Top image edited from original by Tim Morgan
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